Quantifying dry NH3 deposition to an ombrotrophic bog from an automated NH3 field release system

Providing an accurate estimate of the dry component of N deposition to low N background, semi-natural habitats, such as bogs and upland moors dominated by Calluna vulgaris is difficult, but essential to relate nitrogen deposition to effects in these communities. To quantify the effects of NH₃ inputs to moorland vegetation growing on a bog at a field scale, a field release NH₃ fumigation system was established at Whim Moss (Scottish Borders) in 2002. Gaseous NH₃ from a line source was released along of a 60 m transect, when meteorological conditions (wind speed >2.5 m s^?1 and wind direction in the sector 180–215°) were met, thereby providing a profile of decreasing NH₃ concentration with distance from the source. In a complementary study, using a NH₃ flux chamber system, the relationships between NH₃ concentrations and cuticular resistances were quantified for a range of NH₃ concentrations and micrometeorological conditions for moorland vegetation. Cuticular resistances increased with NH₃ concentration from 11 s m^?1 at 3.0 μg m^?3 to 30 s m^?1 at 30 μg m^?3. The NH₃ concentration data and the concentration-dependent canopy resistance are used to calculate NH₃ deposition taking into account leaf surface wetness. The implications of using an NH₃ concentration-dependent cuticular resistance and the importance for refining critical loads are discussed.     

企业可持续发展评价指标体系的选定原则及构建框架

为了制定企业可持续发展的战略决策,须制定可持续发展的指标体系,并依据这一体系对数据和资料进行收集、整理和分析,从而确定可靠而有效的政策方针。文中论述了可持续发展指标体系的定义、选定标准、原则和可持续发展的评价指标体系,提出了压力-状态-响应框架模型以及不同层次的指标体系框架。该指标体系分为总体层、系统层、状态层、变量层和要素层五个等级。对于持续发展的表征指标及对目前发展的可持续性评估,还需要长时间和切合实际的探讨。     

Predicting inter-taxa differences in plant uptake of cesium-134/137

For (134/137)Cs, and many other soil contaminants, research into transfer to plants has focused on particular crops and phytoremediation candidates, producing uptake data for a small proportion of all plant taxa. Despite the significance of differences in uptake between plant taxa, the capacity of soil-to-plant transfer models to predict them is currently confined to those taxa for which data exist, there being no method to predict uptake by other taxa. We used residual maximum likelihood (REML) analysis on data from experiments (including 89 plant taxa from China plus 32 phytoremediation candidates) together with data from the literature, to construct a database of relative (134/137)Cs concentrations in 273 plant taxa. The REML (134/137)Cs concentrations in plants are not normally distributed but significantly clustered. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), coded with a recent ordinal phylogeny for flowering plants, showed that plant taxa do not behave independently for (134/137)Cs concentration because 42 and 15% of inter-taxa differences are associated with phylogeny above the species and ordinal level, respectively. In general, Eudicots, and especially the Caryophyllales, Asterales, and Brassicales, have high (134/137)Cs concentrations, while the Fabales and Magnoliids, in particular Poales, have low (134/137)Cs concentrations. Plants of the stress-tolerant ruderal (S-R) growth strategy sensu Grime have, in general, high concentrations of Cs, while those of the competitive (C) and generalist (C-S-R) strategies have low concentrations, although these effects are less pronounced than those of phylogeny. Plant phylogeny and growth strategy might thus be used to predict a significant portion of inter-taxa differences in plant uptake of (134/137)Cs.     

Use of historical and contemporary distribution of mammals in China to inform conservation

A systematic understanding of dynamic animal extinction trajectories for different regions in a nation like China is critically important to developing practical conservation strategies. We explored historical and contemporary changes in terrestrial mammalian diversity to determine how diversity in each of the 5 regions in China has changed over time and to examine the conservation potential of these regions. We used records from databases on Pleistocene mammalian fossils and historical distribution records (1175–2020) for Primates (as a case study) to reconstruct evolutionary and historical distribution trajectories of the 11 orders of terrestrial mammals and to predict their prospective survival based on the national conservation strategy applied. The results indicated that since the Pleistocene, 4–5 mammalian orders have been lost in the northeast, 3 in central China, 2 along the coast, and 1 in the northwest. In the southwest, all 11 orders were maintained. Contemporarily, the coast and southwest had the highest and second-highest species densities. The southwest region and southeastern sections of the northwest region were the most historically and contemporarily diverse areas, which suggests that they should be the first priority for protected area (PA) designation. The central and coastal areas should be secondarily prioritized. In these 2 regions, conservation should focus on human coexistence with nature. Less attention should be paid to the PA in the northeast and western northwest because in these areas ecosystems are depauperate and the climate is harsh. Conservation in these areas should focus principally on avoiding further human encroachment on natural areas. Article impact statement: Historical and contemporary patterns of extinction can be a basis for mammalian conservation strategies.     

A comparative study of pre-aeration effects on hydraulic jump air–water flow properties at high Froude numbers

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - A hydraulic jump forming in the stilling basin at the base of a high-head dam spillway is often characterized by high Froude number and inflow pre-aeration...     

Sustainability prioritization of sewage sludge to energy scenarios with hybrid-data consideration: a fuzzy decision-making framework based on full consistency method and fusion ranking model

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This work proposed a novel mathematical framework for the sustainability assessment of sewage sludge to energy (SStE) scenarios, by resorting to fuzzy...     

Urban carbon emission intensity under emission trading system in a developing economy: evidence from 273 Chinese cities

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The international community has generally recognized the key role of developing countries’ cities in reducing carbon emissions, an elemental way...     

Increasing the application of gas engines to decrease China’s GHG emissions

This paper employs a review of the technical literature to estimate the potential decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that could be achieved by increasing the application of gas engines in China in three sectors: urban public transport vehicle; shipping; and thermal power plants. China’s gas engine development strategies and three types of gas resource are discussed in the study, which indicates that gas engines could decrease GHG emissions by 520 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO_2e) by 2020. This would account for 9.7 % of the government’s target for decreasing GHG emissions and is dominated by methane recovery from the use of coal mine gas (CMG) and landfill gas (LFG) for power generation. In the public urban transport vehicle and shipping sectors the low price of natural gas and the increasing demand for the control of harmful emissions could spur the rapid uptake of gas engine vehicles. However, the development of CMG- and LFG-fuelled power plants has been limited by the unwillingness of local enterprises to invest in high-performance gas engine generators and the associated infrastructure. Therefore, further compulsory policies that promote CMG use and LFG recovery should be implemented. Moreover, strict regulations on limiting methane leakage during the production and distribution of gas fuels are urgently needed in China to prevent leakage causing GHG emissions and largely negating the climate benefits of fuel substitution. Strategies for increasing the application of gas engines, promoting gas resources and recovering methane in China are instrumental in global GHG mitigation strategies.     

遂宁市主城区环境空气质量现状及原因分析研究

利用遂宁市2017年1月份4个国控环境空气自动监测数据,分析了遂宁市主城区环境空气质量现状,与整个成渝地区和周边城市的空气质量进行了横向比较,并阐述了遂宁市空气质量变化的原因.结果发现遂宁市主城区2017年1月份空气质量指数的范围为32～203,优良率为54.8％,首要污染物为PM2.5,空气质量同比下降了22.8％,环比下降了26.1％,但均显著优于成渝地区和周边城市的平均水平,并从4个方面阐述了空气质量下降的原因.最后,根据遂宁市大气污染现状,提出了4条针对性的防治措施.     

土壤镉污染的现状及修复研究进展

镉是一种对人类和动物健康危害严重的重金属。土壤镉污染问题已经成为全球研究热点。重点分析了镉污染土壤中镉的来源,镉对动植物、人体的危害,并提出了对镉污染土壤的修复的方法。